Steve had spent an extra few minutes in the shower, relishing the rare opportunity to take his time, enjoy a calm evening off without the least of commitments to follow up with.
Long after he dried off, wrapped a towel around his waist and spent an exorbitant amount of time drying his hair and styling it, even though he was headed straight for bed, he still couldn't shake the worry he felt for Mike's current state of mind.
The lighthouse in the storm, as he referred to him so often, was currently missing its bright beam, and the implications could be felt by everybody whose life was touched by the influential and caring Lieutenant.
After everything Mike had done for him, the unconditional and deep friendship he'd offered years ago to a young cop fresh out of the academy, willing to handle that starkly different character as his new partner, and mentor him into a damn good cop, after all that…the least Steve could do was everything in his power to help his best friend though these tumultuous times.
When he was reasonably assured that every last strand of his sandy hair was exactly where it belonged, Steve put on some deodorant and a pair of old PJ pants, before heading to the kitchen to tend to his growling stomach, a not-so-rare occurrence these days.
Thanksgiving leftovers greeted him on one shelf of the old refrigerator, a beer, open can of corn and a fresh jar of spicy hot salsa on the next one down.
Deciding on a deluxe pairing of the salsa with some medium-stale chips from the cabinet, accentuated by a bottle of beer to give his nerves a well-deserved rest, Steve smirked at the irony of going from 4-star meals one day to living at poverty level the next, all within his chosen line of work.
He'd just poured the salsa into a ceramic bowl and retrieved the bag of old chips, when he heard a knock on the door.
Surprised by the unexpected visitor, he checked the clock, woefully realizing that 11pm was quickly approaching and that his shower and cleanup had taken decidedly longer than the time he'd allotted for it.
"One minute!", he yelled and rushed back into the bedroom to put on a t-shirt, before heading toward the front door.
A quick peek through the alcove window overlooking Union Street quickly confirmed that it wasn't Mike visiting him this late at night. Instead, it was the most unexpected and welcome visitor yet.
"Cappy! What are you doing here? I had no idea you knew where I live."
"Kid, you know where to look for people like me…Well, I am here to tell you that we all know where you and Stone live too.", came the curt answer, nothing unusual for the seasoned stoolie. And yet, a private visit was a rare and dangerous occasion, a risk that apparently seemed worthwhile for the other man.
Without much of an invite, he brushed past Steve, hung up his raggedy leather coat, and sat down at the kitchen island, before helping himself to the chips and salsa, along with the beer the young Inspector had set out for himself.
Ignoring the pungent aroma of cigarettes, alcohol and raw human filth the man who was known to sleep out in the alleys for weeks on end dragged inside with him, Steve closed the door, then headed toward his fridge to find another beer.
"I won't lie. It's nice to see you. Especially after we spent the entire afternoon looking for you.", he said and opened the bottle, before grabbing a handful of chips.
"Yeah, about that…next time, just ask a couple guys. No need to ask for me all over town. It raises questions. Questions I don't want to answer, Kiddo."
There was an undeniable authority in his words, as glassy blue eyes stared back at him; the crow's feet near them seemingly tighten to support his request.
"You got it.", Steve answered obediently, hoping to ease the stoolie's mind.
From his spot between the fridge and the kitchen island, the young Inspector studied the older man for many long moments, his trained eyes noticing the increase of gray hairs and wrinkles on Cappy, the eyes that had grown just a tiny bit fiercer, and the ten-some pounds he must have shed during his latest adventures out on the streets.
"I was gonna stop by Stone's place first. It's a safer neighborhood for me, if you know what I mean.", the stoolie then said and helped himself to more chips and salsa, "But it looked like Jeanie was home so I didn't want to interrupt some…I don't know…heartfelt father-daughter moment just to talk business with good old Mike…man…that salsa is good, where'd you get that?"
"Korean market down the road, ironically enough…", Steve said absent-mindedly and pulled one of the bar chairs closer to sit down, "Well, I certainly appreciate you taking the risk to stop by. Think you've got a few moments to answer some questions?"
"Mhm hm.", Cappy answered between bites and took several swigs of beer, emptying the bottle halfway, "As long as you feed and water me, boy, I'll be glad to help you out."
"Okay…well then…so Mike thought you might know of a few people that were part of a circus in the early 60's, used to travel the area and several of them stayed behind. We might be looking for them. Some of them."
With his brows raised in confusion, Cappy dipped an assorted bundle of chips into salsa, then shook his head.
"What are you talking about?...Well, let me rephrase that. How about you spare me the departmental bull and tell me why you want to talk to these people? What's the bigger story here, kiddo?"
With a fleeting smile, Steve helped himself to a swig of beer and ran a hand over his freshly-shaved chin.
"Fair enough, Cappy. We're looking for information on two things. One being a place where we can find goats, sheep and chickens, close together, and two, some sort of cabin on a meadow, overlooking the bay, shingled roof, has rocks and shells in it."
The stoolie almost spit out his beer at the ridiculousness of his words and shook his head, unable to wipe away the smile.
"What in the…did Stone put you up to this? Where do you guys come up with this stuff? Somebody with a crystal ball tell you that?"
"Something like that, yeah. It's for our current case…", Steve breathed impatiently, as he desperately watched his food supplies dwindle in front of his eyes.
"Yeah, I heard you're on that Sullenger case. Pretty interesting situation, if you ask me. You think the ex-wife did it? Nah…you wouldn't ask weird question if that were the case, now would you…?"
With his mouth half-full, Cappy gestured toward the churning bay right outside his window.
"There's a guy…he was the goat guy back during the circus days…I think his name is Alfonso or something like that. I know he stayed behind and he ended up settling down somewhere in Marin County. A bit of a weirdo, keeps to himself a lot, very secretive. Ask around and see if you can find a connection to Alfonso the Great, alias Alfonso the Goat Man, or Alfonso the Beast Tamer."
Biting his tongue at the inappropriate remark that was about to exit, Steve reached for a small piece of paper and a pen lying nearby to take notes.
"You don't have any idea exactly where he settled down?"
"Can't help you there Kiddo, sorry.", Cappy said and emptied the bowl of salsa, before licking it clean, "Now that…that cabin…I feel like I heard about that before…yeah…that's gotta be the Wish Cabin! Friends told me about it before. It's up north someplace…Muir Beach maybe? Definitely Marin County as well. It attracts crazies from near and far alike. Some sort of meditation place. Hey, maybe Alfonso's place is near that cabin."
"It's possible…We'll be sure to check into it.", Steve countered, giving up his idea of food for the night after seeing Cappy devour all his precious supplies.
"Hey, can I ask you something, Kiddo?"
Surprised by the warm tone coming from the other man, Steve glanced up, meeting those blue eyes that had suddenly turned somber.
"Is Stone okay? Cause I am hearing some stuff here and there about that Hendricks shooting and how he's been asking questions and the way he's been acting kind of…you know…downtrodden. Like…like he's very torn up about it. This comes from people who care about him…they're worried how this is all going to affect him, you know what I mean?"
With an imperceptive nod, Steve helped himself to another sip of beer, trying to disguise the slight trembling of his hands.
"Yeah, I know what you mean, Cappy.", he said with a bitter undertone, and drank more beer hoping to wash it down, "The truth of the matter is that…well…that as his partner, I share the same concern."